In the first aliyah (section) of Parshas Terumah, Hashem instructs the Jewish people about building the mishkan, commanding them to make an aron with images on it. This seems to contradict the many strict warnings against making images of gods of silver and gold! However, Hashem specifically instructs Bnei Yisroel to build the mishkan, and they followed His specific guidelines. It served as a place where Hashem showed His connection to and relationship with the Jewish people, as a concrete and constant presence after the one-time revelation at Har Sinai.